January 2018 in Edmonton was not very snowy but finally in the last week around 15cm fell. This snow freshened up the landscape, smoothed out the bumps of ice on the river, and inspired me to get out and explore (especially down by the river).
River Valley
In this post, I countdown my 10 favorite photos of Edmonton* that I took in 2017:
Number ten:
Convention Centre
9:
Churchill Square
8:
Dawson Park
7:
Edmonton City Hall
6:
North Saskatchewan River by Dawson Park
5:
Rowland Road
4:
108 Street
3:
ATB Tower
2:
Dawson Park
and finally my favorite (at the moment) for 2017:
Forest Heights Park
*I should further qualify that these are from just among the photos I took with my DSLR and each has some recognizable Edmonton viewpoint.
Bonus, a few other photos that made the shortlist (but not Top 10):
Yesterday I was out for a walk in the Edmonton river valley. That in itself is pretty common but on this day, I strayed from the usual path and discovered views of my City which were refreshingly different.
These photos were taken from the south side of the river (North Saskatchewan), west of the Capilano Bridge. While I walk the path/ bike trails frequently, this day I made an effort to get right down to the water’s edge. Here, beside the little island near the south bank I discovered what may be the only rapids on the North Saskatchewan River as it winds its way through Edmonton as a big, slow waterway.
From the water’s edge I was also able to see the layers of mud making up the lower river bank.
Looking across the island and gravel bar, and across the river to the east end of Dawson Park on the north bank.
A bit of subtle but striking, color from the few leaves that remain on the trees and shrubs in mid-October:
I’d never before noticed this view of the 50th Street footbridge, under and beyond the Capilano Bridge.
Bonus image:
Looking up at the east end of Jasper Avenue from down beside the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River
Mid-October in Edmonton – we are past the peak of autumn foliage color and in fact a good swath of the river valley has taken on the grey color of bare trees. However there are still a few trees fulled enrobed in gold or red and a few (somehow) holding onto green leaves. What I like best about this season though, is how my senses get attuned to more subtle colors. I see and appreciate things besides colors (like lines and textures) which I would not have even noticed just a few weeks back.
Here are a few photo taken while I was out walking in Edmonton’s river valley (in Dawson Park) on the morning of 2017 October 16th.
Te first day of October 2016 was gloomy, wet and cool (see part 1 post) but on Sunday October 2nd, the sun was out, shedding a whole new light <groan> on the autumn beauty in Edmonton. Here are a few shots from that day:
Houses on the North Saskatchewan River bank on the east end of Jasper Avenue
“Red Kayak” – some enjoyed the beautiful day on the North Saskatchewan River
Path in Dawson Park
“Path and Puddle”, in Edmonton’s River Valley
The north bank of the river valley (over the east end of Dawson Park)
Autumn in all its glory, has arrived in Edmonton. The colors may have peaked a week earlier but here is some of the beauty from the first weekend of October.
The Saturday (October 1st) was gloomy, cool and wet but the wetness brought out the color saturation and contrast in the river valley:
Downtown Edmonton Under Low Cloud
S-bend on Wet Path
Rainbow of Autumn Leaves
Bend in the North Saskatchewan
For more images of early October in Edmonton see part 2, taken on the very sunny day that followed the day of these images.
It was only May 1st, in this year of early spring (and even earlier summer-like weather), but there was already a bit of activity on the North Saskatchewan River in central Edmonton on a lovely Sunday afternoon:
Coming Around the Bend
Wavemaker
Yellow Canoe Under Dawson Bridge
Little Island
Kayaks
The Muttart Conservatory with its 4 striking glass pyramids is one of my favorite Edmonton landmarks. It is wonderful to be inside the pyramids, each of which is a greenhouse featuring a different eco-system. I don’t get inside as often as I would like but I still enjoy the pyramids from the outside. They frequently appear in my photos of the river valley. Here are a few recent (April 2016) images:
Edmonton’s Muttart Conservatory
Three in Formation
Muttart greenhouse (foreground) where plants are prepped for show and sale.
A peek inside the greenhouse
Pyramids on the prairie
Power Pyramid
and as a bonus, here is an image from a couple of months earlier (late-February) showing the pyramids set against the nearby Edmonton Ski Club, on the riverbank.
Greierson Hill beside the convention centre
Built into the bank of the North Saskatchewan river valley, the Edmonton’s convention center (or Shaw Conference Centre) is a landmark and architecturally interesting inside an out. Last Saturday as I made my way from the river valley to downtown I passed up by the building and stopped to capture a view things and views that caught my eye:
Looking Up
Yellow Rails
Railing
Reflected Wall
Curve Wall of Hall D
Up the Steps
Down the Steps
I continued my search today (March 19), for signs of spring in Edmonton. It actually isn’t that hard to believe that spring is officially just a few hours away. Despite some rather cool days this past week, snow is hard to see (in open areas) and the ground and streets have substantially dried up.
My walk today was at Highlands Golf Course in Edmonton’s river valley. Being situated on the north side of the river valley, Highlands has a nice sunny exposure, so its not to surprising that the fairways are now mostly snow free and the grass is, ever so slightly, starting to green up. Here’s what it looked like:
One of the snowier fairways
I am not what you’d call a big golfer. I might be if I had the opportunity but typically get out only a couple of times each year. Still, I just love the atmosphere of the course and even today I could feel it, and smell it.
Road on the southern edge of the course
Just a touch of snow on the bunker’s edge
[As an aside, I think it would be really “cool”/bizarre/intriguing/fun/appropriate if some Edmonton area course had a bunker that was filled (at least covered) with snow (artificial for most of the season)]
Steps to a tee box
This is looking pretty playable, don’t you think? Maybe a couple of more weeks? (barring of course, a completely plausible and probably overdue, big spring snow dump).
An Inviting Fairway
YEGmonton 
